Truth or Dare
by Qalets
Summary: A game of spin the bottle brings to light some unexpected feelings W/S
1. Default Chapter

Silently the bottle spun across the polished wood surface as if twisting through space

Truth or Dare

Disclaimer: I don't own these characters, someone else does

Chapter one…The Dare

Silently the bottle spun across the polished wood surface as if twisting through space. Air whistled in the tapered rim on each rotation until it finally slowed, coming to an abrupt halt in from of Hamilton.

"Hey you guys! That's not fair, you're fixing this!"

"How could we fix it?" Will asked gently, his voice showing that kind of smug satisfaction that he was famous for

"Well, I don't know, but its landed on me for the past three goes in a row"

"It just has taste honey," Jake said in a sickly sweet sarcastic voice as she snuggled up beside him. He smiled slowly, leaning down to kiss her and I averted my eyes slightly, not wanting to remind myself of what I didn't have –a relationship

"Okay then, so what are my choices?" He asked, finally breaking away from his girlfriend who was neatly nestled under his arm, still in full guy gear, which was extremely unnerving during their extensive make-out sessions

"The truth was, what's the kinkiest thing you've ever done…" Will replied

"And the dare?"

"Streak…down the hall" He said it with a smile, knowing full well which one Hamilton was going to pick

For a long moment Hamilton looked at Jake, considering his options before sighing and jumping up, tugging off his T-shirt as he did so.

"You're not…!" Will was amazed; obviously his earlier guess as to his friend's choice had been incorrect

"Of course. My kinkiest moment is very precious to me…" he said unbuckling his belt and sliding down his jeans "…and…" he said ducking out of the doorway and throwing us back a rumpled pair of boxers "…extremely embarrassing"

For a moment the five of us sat in silence, astounded by our friends decision and the speed of its undertaking.

Bella and Sean, who'd been previously making out furiously in the corner, finally came up for air and stared at the door through which a naked Hamilton had recently passed

"Did he just do what I think he did?" Sean asked pensively without letting go of his girlfriend, the one girl I'd ever loved, my sister.

"Sure looks like it" Will said in a matching state of shock.

"Good luck to the guy is all I say" I said slowly, looking back towards Jake who could only sit and gape, her delicate features a startling contrast to the rough guy-like exterior, she swallowed.

"He's dead"

We all agreed.

Five seconds later a panting Hamilton finally made it back through the doorway, wearing nothing but an excited smile.

"Wow that was mad" He puffed, slipping inside with only his hands to cover himself and quickly ducking to pick up the underwear he had so recently discarded on the floor.

"We thought you were a gonna" Will said a matter-of-factly from his place next to mine, his legs extended out in front of him, towards me, lightly touching the small of my back.

"I take it no one saw you?" I asked

"No one about, lucky for me" Hastily he pulled on his jeans and took his seat back beside Jake, kissing her deeply as he sat down "Right, where were we…"

No one replied

"I-I can't believe you just did that!" Jake said finally with a laugh "My God, if anyone had seen you…"

"…they would have got a lot more than they bargained for" He smiled, tugging his T-shirt back on "So who's doing it next…?" He asked jokingly, looking round the circle, we all averted our eyes and he laughed again, obviously high on his experience.

For a long moment no one moved, or spoke. Sean and Bella were busy making out again in the corner I noticed idly, but choose to ignore them. It was Hamilton that finally snapped us out of our amazement.

"Right, are we doing this or sitting here like a load of dummies?" We sat, like a load of dummies. He laughed once again. "I'm picking this time, the truth is: what is your deepest sexual fantasy?" he smiled with his own mischievousness " and the dare is…" he paused, enjoying his power "…kiss the person on your left, properly" He looked toward Jake as he said it, who just happened to be seated on his left. 

We all did the same and my stomach flipped when I realised I'd have to kiss Hamilton. However a second before I could voice my objection Hamilton's hand shot out and spun the bottle once again. Silently the four of us watched as it glided across the floor, slowing gently before finally coming to rest on Will.

Who happened to be seated on my right.

My stomach did a triple flip with turn, pushing upwards against my lungs and forcing all the air out of my chest. 

Hamilton was loving it, laughing hysterically at my terror from his vantage point across from me; while Jake and Will exchanged a look I couldn't read.

For a long moment we all sat in suspense as Will made his decision. It took him a while, which puzzled me slightly; surely he would take the truth… he would never…

My thoughts were cut off abruptly as a strong pair of lips came down on mine.

I have no recollection of him getting up, or even moving towards me, he was simply there, eyes closed, lips searching, mouth against mine, sweet to the taste and soft, so incredibly soft.

Without my minds consent my mouth responded to his, tentatively at first before coming more passionate. Hamilton's dare was defiantly being fulfilled, this was a proper kiss, the most proper kiss I'd felt I'd ever experienced in my life.

And it was Hamilton who had started it all.

And it was Hamilton who broke it apart.

A hoot and a cheer from behind us suddenly snapped us back into reality. Our lips flying apart, our faces flushed, eyes wide, breath short. For a long moment all I could do was stare at him, into that face, so sweet, so angelic, so perfect…

"What the hell did you do that for!?"Like a bullet I was on my feet, terrified, shocked, repulsed. One hundred thoughts flashed through my mind, things I should have felt and didn't, things I shouldn't have felt and did.

Finally I turned and fled, out of the room, out of the dorms, out of the building. Stopping only when my feet hurt and my lungs ached for air and then slowly lowering myself onto the dew-drenched lawn, a bundle of confusion, with the taste of my best friend on my lips.

The night was warm, a soft breeze cutting gently through the quiet of the evening. An owl hooted far off to my right, startling me, causing me to realise where I was, bringing my thoughts back into the present, rather than a few minutes before.

"Stupid, stupid, stupid" I mumbled to myself, over and over

"Why the dare?" I asked myself out loud "Why not just answer the question?" It was simple enough, he needn't have told the truth, just made something up, keep Hamilton happy, keep him quiet…now what was he going to think.

But what worried me most was not Will's decision but my own reaction to that decision, the movement of my lips on his when he so wanted them to. The reply to his touch, the feelings that coursed through my body as I felt his breath on my face, that sweet breath, those soft lips…

I shook my head hard, these weren't the types of thoughts I should be having. I'm straight for gods' sake! No red-blooded male should be thinking these thoughts about another guy, his best mate no less. Suddenly my mind switched over to Will: Was he…? Surely he couldn't be… I'd have worked it out. It would have been obvious…wouldn't it? And if he is…what am I? 

My head started to spin, like the bottle which had started all this mess, that damn bottle, so simple in design, that frazzled the very framework of my life, my thoughts, my mind.

There was a noise behind me and I spun round, catlike, on edge from the wars I was having with myself inside my head. There was nothing there, only the gentle swish of the grass in the wind and the occasional song of a cricket calling into the short summer night. 

Trying desperately to relax I laid myself out along the grass, staring up at the stars as they twinkled down at me, dazzlingly bright against the midnight blue of the sky. More like 2am blue, I thought to myself idly, I shouldn't be out here, we have crew practise in the morning, I was trying to be practical, running my thoughts across more manageable subjects, ones I could rely on to be menial. I should go back to bed…back to the dorm…which I share with… I hit a flaw in my logic, or, more specifically, a brick wall.

Slowly I closed my eyes, slitting them against the stars, hoping to tear my thoughts away from this, this which I couldn't accept and didn't want to.

I could feel his presence before I heard it

"Scout…" It was a simple enough word, tentatively spoken. Terrifyingly my heart did a series of somersaults inside my chest. I didn't reply

"Scout, I don't know what to say…" There was a thump as he sat down beside me, presumably watching me, but I didn't open my eyes to find out, I couldn't, couldn't face him, couldn't be sure that the moment I set eyes on him those feelings would return.

"I…" He started once again, this time reaching out and laying a hand on my arm. I flinched

"Don't touch me…!" I spat in his direction, eyes flying open, scrambling away from him as I had done just a few minutes before. He admitted defeat, sitting perfectly still, evading my gaze. 

I had been right; once my eyes were open I couldn't take them from him. The guy that until about half an hour ago I'd considered my best friend in the world, we understood everything about each other, and although we were utterly different, we were perfectly the same.

I couldn't help but notice his profile as he looked down at the grass, his face lit up by the lights of the school behind him, far over the rise in the lawn. How desperately I wanted to touch that smooth skin, those perfect lips, those long, feminine eyelashes…

I snapped my eyes shut

"This wasn't supposed to happen…" He said slowly, quietly, as if admitting his deepest and darkest secret

"What wasn't…?" My voice was hoarse, low, confused

"Your reaction…"

"What do you mean?"

"You weren't supposed to act this way," My eyes flew open, astonished

"You mean this was planned?"

"No, of course it wasn't" Fleetingly he looked up and caught my gaze, before dropping his eyes once again "I just…" He paused "I guess I'd always had this schoolboy fantasy that if this… ever… that you'd…" He stopped, 

"I'd what?" 

There was a long silence, punctuated only with the quiet whisper of the wind through the stillness of the night.

"…understand"

It was an ordinary word, but I'll remember how he said it for the rest of my life. It was said with a sigh, long and drawn out like air whistling through his teeth, those perfect teeth. I swallowed hard, not understanding, wishing I did.

"Oh God Will…" To use his name felt alien to me, it rolled off my tongue in a way I found unfamiliar, strange. "…I don't understand," I admitted quietly, staring at the top of his head, willing him to look at me, into my eyes. Just moments before I had been the one evading his gaze, but now I found myself desperately seeking it out.

Finally, he looked up, catching me watching him, holding my stare

"I don't think I understand either" There was a smile playing on his lips, a quiet one, subtle but there. "When Ham said… and the bottle landed on me… I just… I didn't know what to do"

Unable to finish his sentences he threw a few beginnings my way, hoping I would understand. This was so unlike Will, the man with the prodigal vocabulary, even he was lost in a situation like this.

"But why…?" I matched his inability to string sentences together. 

There was a long silence before Will dropped his gaze again, I could tell something big was coming, a confession, and my stomach tied itself in knots about it

"Because you are the answer to both of the questions"

In a flash I was on my feet, awestruck, astonished, amazed by the declaration. Unable to speak I began to pace, terrified steps, trying to piece together what was going on

"You mean… you've… felt this way for a while" He nodded slowly, eyes closed, almost ashamed, hurt by my reaction. "How long? How long have you wanted to do to me what you did back there?" I was getting angry now; it was a mask for what I was really feeling, not because I couldn't express it, but because I didn't understand it.

"Since I met you Scout" He was on the defensive now, on his feet, matching my gaze, daring me to comment, to become upset, to get angry with him

"Shit Will!" I spun away for him, resuming my pace, unable to take anything in "I really can't handle this…this is so…fast"

"Fast? Fast is one thing this hasn't been." His voice was strong, not loud, but angry, he punctuated his words with his hands, animated, giving them impact "You have no idea what its been like, to be there for you for this past term, to listen to you go on and on about Bella and how you can never be together. That's what I can't handle Scout, I can't handle lying there in my own bed and listening to you drone on about how I could never understand how you feel because I've never experienced a love that could never be…" He paused, breath coming fast, the anger apparent. During the course of his speech I'd stopped dead in my tracks, turning to face him as he yelled, astonished to see yet another side of my mild-mannered friend which I had never witnessed before "…and you know what the hardest part was Scout?" I shook my head slowly "Biting my tongue, not telling you how I felt because I knew you'd react this way. When I said before that you weren't supposed to react like this, that I'd always had some warped schoolboy fantasy that you'd just fall into my arms and this would all be over, I was telling the truth Scout, that was what I wanted, but I knew it would never happen. I know you too well Scout, and that's why this hurts so much…it was inevitable"

There was a long moment where we simply stood and stared at each other, his chest rising and falling heavily, but slowing, anger gently subsiding, his voice was much quieter when he spoke again, more reasonable

"Scout, I know I was stupid to take the dare, I should have just told some half-assed lie about my deepest sexual fantasy. But I was tired Scout, tried of lying all the time, to you and to my friends and even myself. These past few weeks have been nothing but a lie Scout, trying to pretend that it wasn't you that I thought of when I closed my eyes at night, using Caroline to prove I was straight when it was you I wanted all along. I apologise for putting you through this Scout and I thought I'd feel better when all this was out in the open but I was wrong, I feel worse, because you're hurting about it too…" There was a short silence before he finished quietly "…I think I've said everything I have to say…"

Silently he turned and started back towards the school, head held high, pride not allowing him to show the hurt inside.

There were tears in my eyes as I grabbed for his arm, twisting him round to face me and offering him a wan smile. 

"Shit Will, I can't believe I'm doing this"

"Doing what?" he asked pensively

And running my hand up to the back of his neck I pulled the slightly taller boy (…my best friend, the person I cared about most in the world, the best friend of a girl I thought I had once loved…) down towards me, and kissed him deeply.

Chapter Two…The Truth

Coming soon


	2. The Truth

"That" I said in a low whisper, finally drawing away from him and running my tongue lightly over my lips, savouring the taste

Truth or Dare

Disclaimer: I don't own these characters, someone else does

Chapter Two… The Truth

"That" I finished in a low whisper, finally drawing away from him and running my tongue lightly over my lips, savouring the taste. For a long moment all I could do was stare at him, faces close, arms, hands, still curved around each other, bodies and souls unwilling to let the other go.

"Wow" He uttered under his breath, our faces close enough so I could feel him exhale on my cheek, I smiled.

"Well, well, well," There was a voice behind us "…what have we got here then?" We leapt apart, suddenly aware that we had witnesses. Or rather one witness, one very dangerous witness. Moments after he had spoken he came into view above us, slowly making his way down the hill, "I see you two have caught the fag bug too then," He paused dramatically, a wide self-assured grin on his face "you must have been spending too much time around those two fairies you call friends"

He was beside us now, his face close, taunting. Will swallowed hard beside me.

"Ryder…I" He started, but was cut off.

"Don't mind me guys, you go right ahead, you owe me no explanation!" He was overacting, enjoying the situation, making the most of it. We exchanged a glance, unsure as to where this was going "You know me! You know I can be trusted with your little secret, you know you can trust me to make sure it becomes common knowledge to every other boy at Rawley and make your lives living hell" He finished his sentence in the same sickly sweet tone as it had begun, causing it to hit home all the more strongly. What had we done?

"How, how long have you been standing there?" Will spoke again, quieter this time, the stammer in his voice showing his guilt all too clearly. Beside him I was hastily raking my brain for solutions, stupid excuses we could throw at Ryder, stop him believing what he did.

"Long enough guys," The self-satisfied smile on his face grew larger at our reactions "I heard yelling, thought I'd come check it out, and lo and behold here you two were, getting all cosy on the lawn" He drew the word out long and clear, adding an extra, upper-class English lilt to it, mocking us, enjoying himself.

I couldn't face it any more, my head was lowered now, and I studied my shoes intently. I had no idea how to counter these accusations, my mind had come up with no solution, no line to feed Ryder which would make him think otherwise about us. There simply was nothing, nothing that wouldn't sound totally lame anyway "Oh by the way Ryder, what you saw wasn't us kissing, it was just me trying to help Will get something out of his teeth …" He'd laugh all the way back to his dorm.

Anyway the damage had been done now; we'd both proven our guilt in our silence, in our lack of explanation. If we'd immediately come up with some cover story and stuck to it like glue we might have got away with it, but no, our minds didn't act that fast, not after a kiss like that anyway. We were trapped now, stuck in an impossible situation, with nothing to do but face the music.

Ham and Jake had survived, I thought to myself idly, hoping to lighten the situation in my own mind. Ryder had thought them a couple before Will and I had even considered the thought and had been passing round rumours ever since. They were still intact, still together; they'd got through it. I glanced over at Will, the difference between us and them was the fact that there was no truth in their rumours, while everything about me and Will would be correct, would that make it any different? Any easier? Or more difficult?

It was a while before I realised we were standing in silence, the workings of my mind seemed loud enough to have spoken for themselves and it took a while before my brain was tuned back into the reality frequency. 

"Well…" Ryder said in a mock sweet tone "I'd better let you two little love birds scurry off home then, places to be and all that." He smiled as he walked past us, deliberately clipping Will's shoulder as he did so, causing him to stumble and press up against me. In my nervousness I leapt back, not wanting to be seen close to him, terrified at how Ryder might see it, but he only laughed cruelly as he walked away, happy that he'd bestowed just that little bit more torment on our lives.

"He can't really be as evil as we think he is, can he?" Will asked in a low tone as we watched him walk away "He can't be malicious enough to tell the entire school, he'd have nothing to gain from it."

"Personal glory?" I offered "Respect?"

I turned to walk away from him, annoyed by his innocence, his naivety, the way he clung to logic born out of stupidity. 

"Look at Ham and Jake." I threw back at him simply as I marched off toward the school, the school filled with one hundred other boys that wouldn't approve, with our friends who we'd have to tell, with our dormitory, our beds, our classrooms, our teachers, our lives.

"We'll get through this Scout," He was behind me now, running to catch me up, hand rested on my shoulder. I shrugged it off as if it burned "Scout?"

"Don't touch me Will"

"But Scout I…" 

"Don't you see Will…?" I asked, turning to face him suddenly "…this has changed everything! This was a mistake, a stupid mistake. I can't be with you Will, I don't want to be with you!"

And I walked away.

I couldn't take my eyes from him, curled catlike against his pillow, a ghost of a frown on his face as he slept, and dreamed. The stark green numbers on Will's dresser announced that it was a quarter past four. It would be getting light soon, only a few more hours until we had to get up for crew practise, and I'd spend an hour pressed up against Will in a cramped boat, shirtless in the still summer air, his chest sprinkled with sweat droplets…

I clamped my eyes shut in an effort to block the thoughts there was no use in having. It was over; I'd ended it, before it had started. It had been the only way.

Earlier when we'd watched the tall figure of Ryder saunter into the darkness one thought had struck me over all others: what would happen to Will? My father was paying a lot of money to send me to this school, so I was safe, no doubt about it, but Will didn't have that kind of security. Something like this could push his scholarship over the edge, people at this school wouldn't offer their respect and support to a newly out of the closet teenager, quite the opposite in fact, they wouldn't approve, they'd force him out of Rawley. This was the only way.

Quietly beside me Will mumbled something in his sleep, moaning gently like a child into his duvet before finally giving up and turning over. I couldn't stop myself from smiling at the innocence of his actions, my eyes watching him again as he fell back into a peaceful sleep. I stayed like that for a long time, my eyes resting on the back of his head, before finally drifting into a fitful sleep myself.

The morning dawned cool and clear, the wind rustling through the trees that adorned the sides of the school, sending a lone branch tapping against my windowpane. I choose to ignore it, deciding instead to simply turn over and hide my face from the world, it was six thirty in the morning; I wasn't designed to function on two hours sleep.

It was Will's alarm that finally dragged me out of bed. I lay there for a long time as its piercing cry cut into the quiet of the morning, waiting expectedly for the sound of Wills mumbled annoyance as he dragged himself out of bed, hitting the clock hard with the back of his hand and sending it crashing to the floor, as was his normal morning routine, but none of the above ever took place. For a long time I listened to the long wail of the alarm, a strange feeling creeping over my stomach until a rap on the wall finally brought me back into reality.

"Turn that damn thing off! People are trying to sleep in here!" The paper-thin walls allowed the cry to be heard easily, as was the intention. Eventually I hauled myself out from under my duvet, my eyes lingering on the empty bed beside mine as I slapped the button on top of the alarm clock hard, silencing it immediately.

Will wasn't at crew practise.

I left the moment it was over, striding purposefully back toward the school, hoping to spend some time alone to try and work out what I was feeling, but my plans were shattered on the arrival of Hamilton and Jake.

"Hey Scout," It was Hamilton who called out, jogging to catch up with me, Jake at his side "Hey slow down man"

I stopped suddenly, undeserved anger rising within me.

"What do you want Hamilton?"

"Hey man, calm down, I just wanted to know what was up with you guys, you left in such a hurry last night…"

"Yeah well it was a stupid game anyway" I turned away again, back toward school, not wanting to carry on the conversation. I was acting irrationally and I knew it, they didn't deserve my anger, I just had no one else to vent it on.

"Scout look," It was Jakes turn now; she moved forward and laid a hand on my shoulder, hoping to slow me and not succeeding "We just want to know what going on. Perhaps we can help"

"There's nothing you can do." I said purposefully, shrugging off her helping hand as I had done to Will's only a few hours earlier.

They gave up, stopping suddenly to let me walk away from them. I didn't look back.

I spent the day torn between avoiding Will and looking for him, which, needless to say, is a tiring way to spend your time. However it was only after he missed English class that afternoon that I became anxious. Finn was equally worried and asked if I could keep an eye out for him:

"I know you two were close, did you have an argument or something?" I wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry as I left his office. 

However for all the confusion his words bestowed upon me they did provide the final reason I had been seeking to actually go out and look for Will. 

As it happened it wasn't a hard task, he was at the first place I tried, sitting on a chair outside Bella's dads place, arms behind his head, legs stretched out in front of him. Beside him Bella worked away at a car engine, lent over so far the waistband of her jeans rode down slightly. On the sight of this I wasn't quite sure how to feel, up until last night it would have driven me crazy out of want for her, while today it simply made me smile at the innocence of it. It was Will that caught and kept my gaze, the tranquil look on his face as he sat, the arch of his arms around that perfect golden hallow of hair, those lips, strong and full, and so, so soft.

"Will…?" Taking a deep breath I called out his name gently, the butterflies in my stomach working overtime as I hastily racked my brain to try and work out what I was doing there, why I was doing this to myself. Last night I'd decided that I couldn't be with him and for the sake of his scholarship we should stay apart. I had no idea what had crumbled that resolve so easily.

At the sound of his name his eyes snapped open, catching my gaze and holding it, allowing those lips to form a perfect smile, it was then that I knew why I was there.

"Scout…" For a moment our eyes locked before I realised Bella was standing just a few yards away from us and quickly settled back into my buddy-role

"Well, you didn't do such a good job of hiding," I teased, sitting down on an empty chair beside him "This was the first place I looked" He laughed, watching me.

"I wasn't really hiding Scout," for a moment he paused, the serious undertone evident under the light way he had said the words "Hey Bella do you want a drink or something?" He asked suddenly, breaking our gaze

"Yeah sure, this is thirsty work," It wasn't Bella that answered his question, but the blood red bonnet of a BMW, stood in front of us. Beside me Will smiled all the more broadly and stood up, motioning for me to follow as he went inside.

"You know, I'm not so sure I like being messed around like this Scout," With a change of scene the mood between us changed dramatically. During our brief walk inside he had had time to consider the feelings and actions between us and without Bella around no more friendly front was needed to be put up around us, no matter how little I was prepared for it, now was the time for the truth.

"I-I don't know what to say," I stuttered quietly as I watched him open the fridge door and take three cokes from the bottom shelf. The doubts I had experienced about this outside were back again full force, knocking the wind out of me and causing me to re-question my reasons for being there. However again an answer was offered, as he turned and handed me a coke, our fingers brushing momentarily as it passed from palm to palm, the charge between them obvious. He didn't seem to feel it.

"What's going on Scout?" He asked forcefully, walking away from me again and sitting down at the table, Bella's coke placed neatly before him on the polished wood surface, forgotten.

Slowly I walked towards him, nerves causing me to babble, to cover my real reasons for being there, reasons I wasn't yet able to identify.

"That's what I came here to ask you, I got worried, you weren't around, it was Finn…"

"I meant with us" He cut me off, irritation showing in his voice. 

For a long time there was silence in the room, broken only by the rhythmic ticking of Bella's clock on the right hand wall. I watched it mesmerised, welcoming any small thing to help ease the weight of the situation. Finally I worked up enough courage to speak.

"I was scared," 

Slowly I lowered myself down onto the seat opposite him and clasped my hands on the table in front of me, nervous, focusing on them for support.

"Last night, when Ryder… you know, caught us, I was scared," For a long moment I paused, unsure of how to go on, not wanting to look up and meet his gaze, wary of his reaction "And for the first time in my life it wasn't me who I was scared for first, it wasn't me I wanted to protect… it was you." He didn't say a word, and I didn't want him to. Yesterday had been his time to speak, today it was mine "The very first thought that came into my mind as Ryder announced to us so happily that he'd make our lives a living hell, was what would happen to you? You almost lost your scholarship once already, I didn't want to be the one responsible for you losing it again…"

"…but it wouldn't happen like that" He interjected, I shook my head.

"If people here at school, parents, kids and such like, ever found out at about this, it's not going to be pretty Will. They aren't going to be happy that a townie boy is corrupting one of their own," Finally I lifted my face to look into his, mouth gaping, preparing to strike back, quickly I carried on, not wanting him to cut me off once again "and that's how they'll see it Will, believe me, I've lived with people like this my whole life, I know how they think and gays are one thing they cannot stand"

Silence again, long and thick, stifling, nervous.

"You make it sound like you agree with them…" His voice wavered as he spoke, eyes fixed on the table in front of him, anger rising "Is that what this is about? You think I'm just this disgusting blue collar "gay" that doesn't deserve someone like you, someone of blue blood?" His voice was overflowing with feeling, with hurt and betrayal and anger and fear, all the feelings I had felt in these last two days rolled into one heartfelt sentence.

"My God Will, that's not what I'm saying at all!" I was on my feet now, crouching before him, shocked by his reaction, but he wouldn't meet my gaze.

"So that's why you've been ignoring me! I disgust you…" He was too emotional, too caught up in his own fear, anger and pain to listen. " You think I'm just this sick townie boy with a crush…" 

For a long moment I sat in silence below him, touched by the depth of his feeling as I watched the tears flow freely down smooth cheeks. 

"Will that's not true," Finally I spoke, staring up at him, willing him to look at me, my voice was clam, my body tense "you've got this all wrong, you do not disgust me"

"But, but" He mumbled through his tears 

"Listen to me Will…" I had my hands on those cheeks now, moist with tears, soft with perfection, forcing him to look into my face "Nothing in a million years could make me feel like that about you, nothing!" For a second I watched a note of confusion flash across his mouth, before I covered it with my own.

He didn't hesitate in returning the kiss, his lips responding to mine instantly, passionate and searching, smooth against my own, tasting gently of tears. Finally I broke away, my hands now resting on the sides of his head, forehead pressed up against his.

"You mean everything to me Will…" I said quietly, my eyes still closed, savouring the closeness "That's why I tried to stop this last night, I thought I was doing the right thing. I thought by cutting all connections with you that people might think Ryder was an idiot when he told them about us, because if they'd believed him there's a chance they could have simply throw you out of school…"

For a moment I paused, before going on tentatively "I know how much this scholarship means to you Will and I was prepared to sacrifice us so you could keep your place. I suppose I was being selfish at the same time, I couldn't bear the thought of being apart from you, these last few weeks have been the best I can ever remember, and its all down to you Will, I owe you everything"

For a while he was silent, his face pressed up against mine, skin smooth and warm against my own. I could feel his breath on my mouth every time he exhaled, smell the sweetness of his skin, taste him on my lips, every one of my senses called out to him as we sat there, two touching figures, at the small rickety old table in Bella's kitchen, three unopened cokes slowly warming on the surface beside us.

"What made you change your mind?" His voice was quiet when he spoke, the words coming out in a low whisper, intimate, warm.

"This…" The word was spoken as a shaky sigh. And for a moment nothing more was needed, he knew as well as I did what I meant. "I couldn't bear to lose you, Will, and if you're prepared to take the risk to be together then so am I. I care about you too much to simply walk away from this"

Finally I allowed my eyes to gently flicker open, catching his staring back at me, wide, clear blue pools filled with innocence and happiness. Silently I watched as a wide smile spread across his face and a final tear gently wound itself down his right cheek, before he finally reacted, not with words but with actions as he leant forward and kissed me with such passion and vigour I was glad I was sat down. Every inch of our feelings for one another were poured into that kiss, every stolen moment, every realisation, every heartache, every problem and answer and question were cast away, released to the wind. Leaving only one thought remaining, each other. 

Suddenly there was a crash behind us and we leapt apart, turning as one toward the doorway where three figures lay comically on the broken shadow of the door. For a long moment there was a tense silence as all five of us watched each other, shock on every face, before realisation set in and I began to laugh, Will closely following suit, and drowned out the mumbled groans of the three figures as they attempted to right themselves.

"So what was that in aide of?" Will asked amused as Jake, Bella and Hamilton made their way apologetically toward us, embarrassed looks on their faces.

"Um, we were being concerned friends?" Hamilton offered.

We didn't buy it.

"We were worried that there was something really wrong so we were here to try and make things right again?" Jakes turn

Again it wasn't accepted.

"We were being nosy" Bella finally admitted and we laughed

"That's more like it" I replied, still on a high from the last few minutes, that conversation, that kiss, Will.

"So what's going on with you guys then?" Hamilton asked finally.

"How long were you listening?" Will countered almost immediately. Hamilton looked to the others for help.

"Not that long"

"Long enough" Hamilton and Bella said together, obviously disagreeing with the amount of truth they needed to withhold. Will and I laughed again.

"Then you don't need us to answer your question" Will remarked, slowly taking my hand from where it lay on his knee and linking our fingers together, a subtle gesture of trust and endearment.

"So you're really…?" He asked, and we nodded together, smiles on our faces.

"Wow, I never would have guessed it, I was just joking you know, when I made up that dare…I never expected…"

"Neither did we," I offered simply, catching Wills eye momentarily, before looking back towards our three friends "Someone did though" Silently I caught Jakes eye and she stepped forward slightly a smile on her face,

"You knew?" Hamilton said shocked, turning to look at her

"Yeah I knew" She replied without looking at him, instead her eyes were fixed on us, sat close together, happy, finally, with each other.

"How did you know I told her?" Will asked me simply

"That look you gave her before you first kissed me, it was a big give away" He laughed and so did I, and suddenly, with our eyes locked there was no one else in the room, only each other, and the touch of his hand on mine.

"So" He said slowly with a mischievous twinkle in his eye "Do you think I'm ever going to get to kiss you without someone barging in on us?"

I laughed and slowly picked myself up off the floor, squeezing his hand as I did so before letting it go,

"Probably not old buddy" Gently I squeezed his shoulder, before moving away from him, there was one more I needed to get settled.

Bella was stood to the left of Hamilton and Jake, that kind of gentle smile on her face that would have sent me crazy only a few days before. It's amazing how quickly the heart can change, I thought to myself idly as I walked toward her and flashed her a faint smile. She returned it immediately and welcomed my hug when I slipped my arms around her shoulders. I had her blessing and the one thing that made the moment complete. Every thing was right with the world. I was happy and that was the only thing that mattered. 

How naïve I was.

Chapter Three…The Winners

Coming soon


	3. The Winners

Title: Truth or Dare Quinton Normal Quinton 2 371 2001-08-10T21:40:00Z 2001-11-05T21:18:00Z 2001-11-05T21:18:00Z 9 3069 17494 Packard Bell NEC 145 34 21483 9.2720 

Title: Truth or Dare  
Author: Miss Demeanour  
Email: dayi_mai@hotmail.com  
Rating: PG-13  
Category: Slash  
Disclaimer: I don't own these characters, someone else does  
Summary: A game of spin the bottle causes unexpected feelings to come to light  
Thanks: To everyone who's already liked and reviewed my story, and special thanks to Sue, a great help!

Finally my final chapter is up and running, sorry it took so long guys and hope you like it.

Thanks to all

Miss_Demeanour

Chapter 3

The winners

        We left Bella's at around ten that night; the four of us setting off back toward Rawley in the gathering summer dusk, our gentle footfalls the only sound on the deserted street.

"You did what!?" It was Jake -the moment we'd finished explaining about Ryder, she wasn't best pleased with our actions "What the hell were you two thinking?"

"We weren't thinking, that's the point, if we had been we wouldn't be in this mess" Will was doing all the talking; he seemed to be better at explaining. At times like this I was happy to take the backseat. Hamilton matched my attitude as well as my stride as we walked silently behind Will and Jake, allowing them to fight it out between themselves.

"But surely you'd realise it was risky!" Subtly she lowered her voice "I mean, making out in the middle of Rawley School's lawn, for gods sake!"

"It was 2 o'clock in the morning Jake! Who was likely to be there?"

"Ryder it seems"

 "How were we supposed to know that? Do you really think a nosey schoolmate would have been the top on our list of thoughts at that moment in time?"

I was beginning to become uncomfortable now. These were the most important and intimate moments of my life, and two of my best friends were arguing them out in front of me as if I weren't even present. Needless to say it wasn't the best of feelings.

"I realise you had a lot on your mind, but surely…"

"A lot on our minds, there's the under-statement of the century"

"There's no need to snap…"

I had to agree with Jake; Will was taking this far too much to heart. We'd all stopped walking now, the force of Will and Jake's argument having ground them to a halt, causing Hamilton and I to follow suit. 

"I was only suggesting you could have been more subtle about it" Jakes turn again

"More subtle!" Will laughed, almost cruelly "You're telling me to be more subtle! I seem to recall that we aren't the only ones who've been caught by Ryder around here, and in the school library no less! During the day!"

Jake was gradually growing redder by the moment, finally I grew tired of Wills over-reaction to Jake's re-action and dropped a hand on his shoulder.

"Hey calm down mate, don't you think you're being a bit melodramatic?"

"What do you mean melodramatic?" He had turned to look me in the face when he questioned me, but immediately turned back to Jake "I just don't like a hypocrite"

For a moment we all just stared at each other, an astonished silence falling over us all. It wasn't that it was a particularly bad insult, or in fact any insult at all, it was just the way it was said, and the person who said it. It was a shock when someone like Will who barely ever had a negative thing to say about anyone, suddenly turned on one of his best friends, no matter what it was about.

"You didn't mean that" I said forcefully, grabbing hold of his shoulder tightly. I could tell Jake had been stung by his reaction, even if she wasn't the type to show it "Will, apologise, she didn't deserve that"

For a moment there was a thoughtful silence, before finally Will opened his mouth in preparation to reply. However he got no further, as a snide voice from behind us cut him off.

"Lovers tiff, eh?" 

I unison all our heads turned to toward the speaker, shocked back into the reality of the street. 

"Getting a bit cosy there, aren't we boys?" The guy behind the first speaker chipped in and for the first time I realised I still had my hand rested on Wills shoulder. Swallowing hard I let it fall back to my side, stepping away from him, turning to face our assailants.

There was four of them stood before us, all male, all of which I recognised from the halls of Rawley. I couldn't have told you their names, only that all of them hung out with Ryder, and the one who had spoken first (neatly positioned at the head of the group) seemed to be acting as their leader in his absence.

For a long time we all just stared at each other, unsure of what to do. The mischievous smiles on the faces of our four onlookers slowly faded as we stood there, becoming more and more uncomfortable. That was until Hamilton, who up until now had had very little role to play in our entire situation, finally broke the spell.

"Fuck off guys" With his who-gives-a-damn attitude wrenched up to full power and the plain distaste for them radiating from his voice, the line was delivered with such success that we didn't even have to be the first to walk away form the situation. Instead they turned and slunk off back toward town, the first one reclaiming some of their lost pride by yelling obnoxiously over his shoulder:

"We know what you two are! And we don't want your kind round here!"

        We walked back to Rawley School swathed in a mixture of shock and confusion, which manifested itself in severe silence. It wasn't until Will and I were safely behind the locked door of our dormitory that the truth had finally sunk in.

"Shit Will!" I bashed my hand hard against the solid wood door, anger bubbling. Will's reaction, on the other hand, took the other extreme; he seemed numb, oblivious to the world around him, including me. Without a word he padded over towards his bed and sat down, staring down at the threadbare carpet. "Will, are you okay?" 

Concern dissolved the anger as I crouched in front of him, ducking my head to meet his eyes and finding to my shock that tears hung there. Fat, painful tears that wound their way slowly down smooth cheeks, glittering in the harsh artificial light of the lamp beside his bed.

        "You were right" He said finally, his voice grating, shocked and wounded "You were right about everything" Avoiding my gaze he stared upwards at the ceiling failing miserably to blink back the tears that transformed the deep pools of his blue eyes into sparkling sapphires, set deep beneath golden eyelashes.

        Gently I took his hand, linking our fingers together, hoping he could find solace in the touch, as I had found strength in it when we were facing our friends.

        "Will, we both knew this was going to be hard…" I paused, reaching my hand up and cupping his cheek, forcing his face down to look into mine. For a long moment our eyes met and caught, the light dancing hypnotically in his precious irises, holding my gaze.

        Finally it was I who broke the moment, reaching up and brushing away a fallen tear with my thumb, his skin as smooth as silk beneath my fingers.

        "I didn't think that a few cruel words could hurt me so bad. Stick and stones… and all that"

        I smiled gently "Its never that easy…"

        It was from then on that things really began to get hard. Days passed slowly, intertwined with rude glares and snide comments. Ryder had done his job and done it well, the role of the villain suited him perfectly and he played up to it, casting us both a wide smiles and a blown kisses whenever he saw us in the halls, either together or apart. It took no longer than a day for the news to be passed throughout the school and we knew it would only be a matter of time before the teachers got wind of it. Rawley wasn't a place to keep secrets, as we were so cruelly finding out.

        "Why does Ryder hate us so much?" Will asked me one evening as we'd finished comparing notes on the new and ugly remarks people had thought up

        "He doesn't hate us, he's just a bored, stuck-up rich kid who feels he needs to cement his superiority by taunting others -we're easy targets" My anger flared 

         "That's very philosophical of you Scout," He said with a smile, lightening the tone of the conversation. I smiled back, and leant across to kiss him gently

        "And you love me for it" I said against his lips, our kisses deepening as we took advantage of the moments we could have along together. It was a while before he drew away, and when he did he kept his face close.

        "I do you know" He said quietly, intimately.

        "Do what?"

        "Love you" 

For a moment I was still, silent, before my I allowed my lips to gently form the smile that had been growing there.

        "I love you too, Will" And again my lips came down on his.

        "Guys!" Jake crashed through our doorway, excitement escalating as she screamed the word "I have an idea"

        Uninterested we both looked up form our separate tasks, Will was stretched out on his bed, casually reading his English text, while I attempted to put my English literature assignment down onto a word processing document. Somehow though, it didn't seem to be working, I welcomed the interruption.

        "You know, it would have been nice if you'd knocked" Will said quietly, without taking his eyes from his book, I didn't know how he did it, I suppose the world of William Blake was just more important than reality in his eyes.

        "Yeah, well this was important"

        "And you got at us for not being careful about our privacy" I said sarcastically, "For all you know we could have been making out furiously and confessing our undying love for one-another"

        "I suppose I never thought of that…" Slightly embarrassed she turned round to glance at the door that had swung to a close behind her, "I'll try and remember next time,"

"You mean the next time you practically break down our door with excitement?" Will's turn, delivered without so much as a glance up from the book

I smiled, giving up on my essay and looking up at Jake "So what *are* you so excited about?" 

        "I have this idea…" 

        "What kind of idea?" I asked tentatively 

"The kind that should get the whole of Rawley off your backs for as long as you both shall live…" A wide smile crossed her lips as she got Wills attention, the book instantly being placed facedown on the bedspread beside him

"Okay, we're listening…"

"Suddenly I'm not so sure this is a good idea" I gulped slowly, settling myself beside Hamilton in our favourite booth at Friendly's eyes wandering over the crowded room "I mean, if this doesn't work…"

"Relax man, she knows what she's doing" 

"How do you know?"

"Just trust him Scout" Wills voice cut into our conversation from the other side of the table. He seemed calm, that kind of feline serenity that separated him from the rest of us, his ability to step out of a situation when it got too heavy. I envied him for it.

"I'm still not sure about this…" I was prepared to go on, but was cut off as two figures strode confidently in through the glass door of the diner, the high-pitched bell signalling their entrance. 

Every pair of eyes joined mine in watching them, witnessing with awe the grace and perfection of these two strangers.

It took a double and triple take for me to recognise them.

The first was taller than the other, her short dark hair elegantly sculpted around her face to emphasise her bold features. The large dark glasses that shielded her eyes gave her a sense of mystery, and when teamed with the lightly lip-sticked mouth, it was obvious the look she wore was of amusement, seen only on those safe in the knowledge that they would not be recognised.

Her companion heralded exactly the same amount of self-assurance, her long white blonde hair swept up into an intricate bundle on the top of her head. Her face, like her companion was also covered with a pair of large sunglasses making her seem like she would be more at home in a Hollywood magazine rather than a small-town diner.

The two paused on the threshold of the diner, enjoying the atmosphere of bewilderment in the room before slowly winding their way through the crowded tables toward our booth.

It was only when they stopped before our table that I realised my mouth was hanging open in amazement. I shut it fast.

"Hi boys" It was Jake, pure and simple. Clad in a glamorously low cut top, hipster trousers and high-heeled boots, she looked every inch the well-dressed American teenage-girl, but beneath that mask of femininity, Jake was still there. 

Bella came up beside her and offered us a shy wave. With her the look had had to be more complete, for no townie would have even thought to think that this dark haired beauty beside her would be Jake, the guy from Rawley boys, while Bella was in her own territory, she could not reinvent herself as a different gender, only a different person. Therefore it took me longer to find the real Bella Banks behind the charade.

She wore a short blue dress that revealed, as much leg as there was to reveal, her outfit complete with a pair of knee-high brown leather boots. The stick of a lollipop stuck out of her mouth and she twirled it absent-mindedly as we faced each other. 

It was Hamilton that finally broke the silence that my own observations had filled. 

"Well, you two took you're time" Thankfully Hamilton was still acting the same way he always did.

"What can we say? We stopped for gas?" The American drawl that came from Bella's lips was not the one we were used to, but even that didn't prepare me for what she was about to do next. Delicately slipping herself into the booth beside Will she tugged the lollipop out of her mouth, and holding it a little way out in front of them, kissed him deeply on the lips.

I swallowed hard, instantly aware of the attention the other occupants of the room were giving us. And who could blame them? Two exquisitely beautiful strangers arrive in a small town diner unannounced and one starts making out with a guy who's known to be, not quite into that thing, if you know what I mean. Reality seemed to be crumbling around me.

Jake picked up on my unease immediately.

Slipping into the booth beside me, she said simply, in an accent that wasn't her own "Long time no see, stranger" And offered me her cheek. I kissed it gingerly, casting a small glance at Hamilton who merely stood before us, smiling proudly.

"So," Said Will slowly, fitting into his role with a little too much ease, I thought, as I watched his arm snake gently around his companion. "What do you two ladies want to eat?" 

"Nothing for me thanks" Jake said delicately, reacting to the question in the totally opposite way as she would have done as Jake "Perhaps just a mineral water"

"Same for me thanks," Bella had finished kissing Will some time ago and was now contented with sitting with his arm around her shoulders, lips playing over her lollipop. 

"Right then" Hamilton turned and walked over to the counter, settling himself on a stool after he had ordered, making a great play of leaving us alone. Together.

A full ten seconds of silence passed on Hamilton's exit until I finally plucked up the courage to lean closer to "Jake".

"What next?" I asked, my voice a harsh whisper, and so quiet not even Will and Bella should have been able to hear our exchange. "I'm half expecting Sean to stroll through that door any minute wearing a dress and sandals and start making out with Hamilton as if their lives depended on it!"

She laughed, shaking her head

"No! Of course not" Wickedly she raised her eyebrow "He wouldn't agree" In a perfect moment of bad timing I'd taken a sip of my drink after my outburst and with this comment proceeded to not only choke but to spray half the contents of my mouth over myself and the table in front of me. Will, Bella and Jake, collapsed in giggles.

"I wanted to go all out" She whispered finally, more serious now, leaning close to help wipe the table "This isn't just benefiting you two you know, I'm just enjoying being female again, if only for a few hours" 

For a few moments there was silence, as I sought hard to find Jakes eyes behind the dark glasses, before dropping my eyes once again

"Well, I think at the moment you're the only one getting *anything* out of this, all I'm doing is making a total ass out of myself!"

She laughed "Well no actually, I thought you were doing pretty well, all except for the drink incident," as she spoke she reached up and wiped my mouth gently with the tissues she still had wadded in her hand, a tender gesture that only cemented the fact in my mind that *she* was the better actor. 

"What makes you think they don't all think I'm a total idiot?" I asked slowly, her eyes never leaving mine as she replied

"Take a look for yourself"

It wasn't until she said that that I came to realise exactly how this conversation would have looked to the other people in the room. We were sat close together, arms and legs touching, faces close so we could conduct our conversation in private, but this is not how it would have been interpreted by a common onlooker. What they would have seen is not a friend calming the nerves of a friend, but a couple, as close to one another as possible, laughing and flirting, and touching one another on every opportunity. Even now her hand rested on my leg, tissues still in hand, eyes on mine –exactly the kind of behaviour you expect of two people, maybe not in love, but certainly in lust.

Slowly I swivelled my head around to take in the other occupants of the room and was met by a hundred eyes all flickering back to their plates, a surer sign that we had been being watched than if they had all continued staring. I smiled slowly- this might work yet.

However, as I turned back to the table, I was made to swallow my newfound confidence, almost literally, as a soft pair of feminine lips came down on mine. My immediate reaction was to clamp my mouth shut, body tensing from head to toe, her kiss was a shock to my system, I who had become accustomed to the sweet, harder kiss of Will found in Jake a strange sense of nostalgia that brought a picture of Bella into my mind.

I pulled back.

And stared straight into the eyes of Ryder.

That's where things got interesting.

"Well, Calhoun, this is quite the surprise" I gaped, unable to reply; surely he wasn't supposed to be acting so self-assured right now?

"Go away Ryder" It was Will, at my rescue once again

"What could I possibly gain in going away when the two most beautiful ladies in Rawley seem to be sitting at your table?" He never took his eyes from Jake as he spoke, who simply stared back a bored look on her face, before turning to me.

"I take it this is the guy you've been telling us about?"

Silence for a second, before a voice in the back of my head screamed at me to play along.

"Yeah, yeah…" a bad start, but it got better "Girls I'd like you to meet Ryder, the guy that's been spreading all those rumours" I was trying to act as if his presence didn't faze me in the slightest, I wasn't sure if it was working.

"They've told us all about you" Somehow Jake managed to make her voice sound ominous

"All good I trust" He seemed to be a little less sure of himself now, although it could just have been my imagination. Ryder wasn't used to dealing with girls with strength, girls with minds of their own, girls that could make him feel small when they wanted to. 

"You shouldn't put trust in things you know aren't true" Bella's turn.

There was silence for a moment while he regarded us all, before finally he spoke again.

"Well, Krudski, aren't you going to introduce me to your lovely lady friends" Somehow his self-assuredness seemed to be becoming more and more fake on every sentence.

"With pleasure…" And as Ryder was becoming less and less sure of himself, the rest of us were filling with confidence, "Ryder, this is Alison, and Josephine" He motioned to Bella first and then Jake, making up names off the top of his head.

Bella gave him a barely visible nod, settling further into Wills side, while Jake extended her hand, taking his and shaking it strongly.

"Its nice to meet the guy that has made our friends' lives hell, for the past few weeks" Somehow she managed to put just enough stress on the word "friends'" as to make it sound as if we were really a lot more, and for some reason this seemed to do the trick. If any one of us had said that same line to him he probably would have dismissed it, laughed in our faces at our weakness, used it against us sometime in the future. But when Jake said it he seemed genuinely ashamed. He was not used to being exposed for his true colours in front of beautiful women, and didn't like it one bit. Pathetically he tried to save himself:

"I, I try my best" The stutter was a shock, Ryder Forrest showing true fear and shame to be found out by a girl.

Jake rewarded him with a smug smile, before tugging at my hand and standing up.

"I think its time we got going guys" Will and Bella followed suit, and leaving Hamilton to settle up we pushed past Ryder and into the dusk beyond the doorway, leaving him stood, dumbfounded and beaten, at an empty table.

It wasn't until we reached the next block that we allowed ourselves to crumble into the giggles we knew were brewing. For a long time we simply stood on the corner, just out of sight of Friendly's laughing and talking and congratulating each other on a job well done, before finally we began to make our way back to Rawley school. I think I'll always remember that night as my last great defeat of Rawley School. Putting a person like Ryder in his place after the years he had victimised Jake and Hamilton as well as Will and I was a feeling you do not forget in a hurry. Neither was the feeling you get when you walk through the streets of a familiar town as the streetlights flicker on at dusk, your arms around the greatest friends you've ever known, and a warm feeling in your heart that comes from loving, and being loved in return.

Finis


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